Transfer-Medium-Free Nanofiber-Reinforced Graphene Film and Applications in Wearable Transparent Pressure Sensors

• Published in: ACS nano 2019-05, Vol.13 (5), p.5541-5548
• Main Authors: Ren, Huaying, Zheng, Liming, Wang, Guorui, Gao, Xin, Tan, Zhenjun, Shan, Jingyuan, Cui, Lingzhi, Li, Ke, Jian, Muqiang, Zhu, Liangchao, Zhang, Yingying, Peng, Hailin, Wei, Di, Liu, Zhongfan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b00395

Graphene exhibits properties of atomic thickness, high transparency, and high carrier mobility, which is highly desirable for a flexible transparent conductive material. However, the electronic properties of large-area chemical vapor deposition grown graphene film suffer from insulated polymer contaminations introduced by the transfer process and the easily cracked nature. Here, we report a preparation method of a transfer-medium-free large-area nanofiber-reinforced graphene (a-PAN/G) film simply by annealing the electrostatically spun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers on the graphene film. The film could be free-standing on water and suspended in air with high transparency and enhanced electrical and mechanical properties compared to that of a monolayer graphene film. The flexible transparent a-PAN/G films were demonstrated as active materials for sensitive pressure sensors. The obtained pressure sensors demonstrate high sensitivity (44.5 kPa–1 within 1.2 kPa), low operating voltage (0.01–0.5 V), and excellent stability for 5500 loading–unloading cycles, revealing promising potential applications in wearable electronics.